This Lost Van Winkle Bourbon Label Is Finally Back on the Market—and It's Delicious

A lost Van Winkle bourbon is back from the dead—and it's damn tasty. Though Old Commonwealth Bourbon doesn’t bear the Rip or Pappy name, the label was originally produced by the Van Winkle family until Buffalo Trace took over operations in 2002 and shuttered the Old Commonwealth distillery. That is, until this month, when the label returns with a new 10-year-old expression.

Old Commonwealth's history traces back to 1972, when the Van Winkle family sold off their own Stitzel-Weller distillery amid a long-term nationwide slump in whiskey sales. In 1981, spirits conglomerate Diageo took over Stitzel-Weller's facility, effectively ending the Van Winkle family’s affiliation.

Diageo began to sell off old barrels of bourbon made by Stitzel-Weller co-founder Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle, Sr. His grandson, Julian Van Winkle III, spent years buying his grandfather’s barrels back but had nowhere to bottle the Old Rip Van Winkle products. So, in 1983, Julian looked for a site to keep the family business alive.

Still decades away from running the world's most coveted bourbon brand, Julian scraped together enough capital to purchase the Hoffman Distillery in Lawrenceburg, KY. The site dated to 1880 and brought a rich history, but few comforts. Julian renamed it the Old Commonwealth Distillery and created the Van Winkle family of whiskeys we know today.

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Van Winkle namesake spirits weren’t the only whiskeys bottled at the Lawrenceburg plant. A 10-year-old, 107-proof Old Commonwealth wheated bourbon—the same specs as Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year—also shipped out from 1997 until Julian closed the distillery in 2002 to work with Buffalo Trace.

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The distillery was out of the whiskey business until three partners with a passion for bourbon history purchased the site in 2019 with a vision to preserve its heritage and revive lost brands as the Old Commonwealth Distillery. In addition to the Van Winkle bourbons, Ezra Brooks Bourbon also grew out of the Lawrenceburg operation. The distillery was also run for a time by members of the Ripy family, who would go on to establish Wild Turkey.

“The goal of Old Commonwealth is to dig into the history and resurrect old brands,” says company representative Sean Evans.

The first to return is Old Commonwealth 10 Year Old. It’s a small batch, and, Evans says, they’re not attempting to recreate the wheated, 107-proof bottles that once rolled out of the distillery. In fact, the new offering is a 132-proof barrel proof and there’s no wheat in the 75-percent corn, 15-percent rye, 10-percent malted barley mash bill. “We want to honor the brand’s legacy, but also evolve the brand and its profile,” he says.

One detail today’s Old Commonwealth shares with its predecessor: It’s sourced from a “heritage Kentucky distillery,” though Evans politely declined to share which one.

Once I tried a pour of Old Commonwealth, I stopped worrying about its origins. It’s stunning regardless of who distilled it a decade ago. Before it touched my palate, aromas of rich toasted vanilla and strawberry jam jumped out of my Glencairn. And taking a sip, I was treated to a balance of darker, spiced fruit with toffee, cinnamon, and a bit of oaky leather.

Despite the high proof, there was no more initial bite than a nice bottled-in-bond. The gentle heat of the 132 proof was soft and warming; pleasant in the same way the heat from hot peppers complements a dish.

Like the best whiskeys I’ve enjoyed, what set this apart was how the bourbon finished. It sat on the back of my tongue, lingering and developing with more notes of spiced fruit and peppery rye.

Old Commonwealth 10 is priced at $200 and a very limited release, says Evans. But anyone can sign up for the wait list to purchase a bottle through online retailer West Dupont Circle Wines & Liquors . The distillery plans to release more revived brands in the near future, says Evan, including ones that are more widely available and at more accessible prices.

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